Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Christmas In Cincinnati

I love Christmas in Cincinnati!

Sheila here, and I love all of the ways families can make special memories during the Christmas season here. Ric, Katie, Eric, and I went to the Cincinnati Zoo's Festival of Lights last weekend. We hadn't been there for several years.

After a few weak protests about the cold weather, we layered up our clothes (2 pairs of socks!), and headed up to the zoo before dusk. It was a perfect time. We saw a few of the animals before darkness descended, and then we watched the lights brighten as the sun went below the horizon.

It's amazing to me to think about how long it must've taken Zoo employees to put up more than two-million LED lights, and they did a fantastic job. We walked through the candy cane forest, gingerbread land (in the Children's Zoo), stopped for hot chocolate, and enjoyed our personal grand finale as we walked past Swan Lake on our way out.We wrapped up our night with a family dinner at LaRosa's pizza in Northern Kentucky.

Some of my family's other hometown Christmas favorites include seeing "A Christmas Carol" at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. We go every year, and I absolutely love Bruce Comer as Ebeneezer Scrooge. A stop Downtown is always fun. Fountain Square is so festive. I'm too clumsy to do any ice skating, but the rink is a popular place right now. We also had a great time at the Cincinnati Museum Center's Holiday Junction this month. If you have a train lover in your family, it's a natural. And the Santa Claus there is the sweetest.

I also think the live Nativity at the Krohn Conservatory is a wonderful reminder of the true message of Christmas. The decorations inside, particularly the miniature Cincinnati landmarks, are very cool too.

Whatever you choose to do as we approach the holiday, I hope you find many blessings in it. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!